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| Unseasonably cool weather has slowed crop progress in many
parts of the Corn Belt, according to USDA. |
Cool
Weather Slows Crop Progress; Corn Ratings Drop Slightly,
NCGA Notes
(8-24-04)
Unseasonably
cool weather in the northern Corn Belt has slowed development
of this year’s corn crop, and the overall condition
of the crop has dropped off slightly during the last week, according
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest crop
progress report.
But while some
members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) are experiencing
less-than-perfect growing conditions, others
are expecting the harvest of a lifetime. “I've got ears of
corn as big as the barrel of a baseball bat,” Maryland farmer
and NCGA member Melvin Baile Jr. told the Associated Press. “I’m
looking at probably my best corn crop ever. It has been a near-perfect
growing season.”
According to
the USDA report released Monday, 71 percent of the corn crop
is rated
as good or excellent, down from 73 percent last
week. Survey data shows that 70 percent of the corn crop is in
the dough stage, 6 percentage points below the five-year average
but on pace with last year’s progress. Denting, reported
at 36 percent complete, is also slightly off the five-year average
of 39 percent.
Six percent of the crop is mature, compared to 5 percent last
year and a five-year average of 7 percent. Harvest of early-planted
fields is already under way in several southern states including
Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Development is behind normal in the northwestern Corn Belt states
of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Low temperatures
in the mid-30s were recorded in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota
last week, but a warmer weather pattern has settled in the area
this week.
While crop
condition and progress were both below the five-year average,
this year’s corn crop compares favorably to last
year’s record-breaking crop. Only 50 percent of the crop
was listed as good or excellent at this time last year, and doughing,
denting and maturing was progressing at a slower pace than this
year.